Well, without noticing it, I managed to crank over the 500
hour mark yesterday. Not particularly impressive compared
to many in this group for sure, but I have paid for each and
every one of those hours myself. According to the ASF, I'm
now in the sweet spot (between 500 and 1000 hours) where
my accident fatality rate drops to a minimum before inexplicably
starting to rise again (anyone know why? Alzheimer's?). I'm looking
forward to a startling reduction in my insurance premium next year....

The flight was just a hum-drum solo trip into North Las Vegas (VGT),
nothing too exciting. I love the work-out on the radios transitioning
through the class Bravo, and the beautiful views of the city as the
sun rises in the early morning. Nothing really spectacular like
numerous trips over the Grand Canyon. Nothing exhausting, like
a two-hour bouncy ride over Arizona on a hot summer afternoon.
Nothing nerve-wracking, like the night-time journey through a rain
storm in continuous moderate turbulence. Nothing as surreal as
a bout with Mexican officialdom on a trip to Baja. Just plain fun,
and I passed the 500 hour mark in the air without even realizing it.

No champaign on landing. No excited crowds (although I have
manage to survive in the air 50% longer than Amelia Earhart did,
which should entitle me to something). Come to think of it, no
drama whatsoever. Isn't life fun sometimes?

--
Dr. Tony Cox
Citrus Controls Inc.
e-mail:
http://CitrusControls.com/

Congratulations Tony! Lots of learning gained spending that money,
wasn't there?

Congrats. It's fun to watch the hours tick off, over the years.

I remember when I was a student, and there was an instrument student at my
FBO that had (*gasp!*) TWO HUNDRED HOURS.

I thought he was God himself.

Now, with 800-some hours, and growing about 100 per year, I realize how
little he knew, and how REALLY little I knew.

In fact, I'm sometimes amazed that they let any of us fly at all, with just
40-something hours on the clock...

;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

Much better than 500 rounds of golf, too.....:o)


Trip


In article >, says...
>
>Congratulations Tony! Lots of learning gained spending that money,
>wasn't there?

Congrats. on the significant milestone Tony.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

On 4/2/04 9:39 AM, in article %Webc.165213$po.972319@attbi_s52, "Jay Honeck"
> wrote:

> Congrats. It's fun to watch the hours tick off, over the years.
>
> I remember when I was a student, and there was an instrument student at my
> FBO that had (*gasp!*) TWO HUNDRED HOURS.
>
> I thought he was God himself.
>
> Now, with 800-some hours, and growing about 100 per year, I realize how
> little he knew, and how REALLY little I knew.
>
> In fact, I'm sometimes amazed that they let any of us fly at all, with just
> 40-something hours on the clock...
>
> ;-)

I look back and wonder how my instructor could have let me solo at 12 hours.
Signing off a student to solo or take a checkride, have to be some of the
scariest moments in aviation.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
www.wizardofdraws.com
www.cartoonclipart.com

Charles Lindbergh once said, "I decided that if I could fly for ten
years before I was killed in a crash, it would be a worthwhile trade
for an ordinary lifetime." Every flight takes you a little deeper into
the extra-ordinary. Enjoy every one. ;)
--
Gene Seibel
Lindbergh on aviation - http://pad39a.com/gene/lindy.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.



"Tony Cox" > wrote in message . net>...
> Well, without noticing it, I managed to crank over the 500
> hour mark yesterday. Not particularly impressive compared
> to many in this group for sure, but I have paid for each and
> every one of those hours myself. According to the ASF, I'm
> now in the sweet spot (between 500 and 1000 hours) where
> my accident fatality rate drops to a minimum before inexplicably
> starting to rise again (anyone know why? Alzheimer's?). I'm looking
> forward to a startling reduction in my insurance premium next year....
>
> The flight was just a hum-drum solo trip into North Las Vegas (VGT),
> nothing too exciting. I love the work-out on the radios transitioning
> through the class Bravo, and the beautiful views of the city as the
> sun rises in the early morning. Nothing really spectacular like
> numerous trips over the Grand Canyon. Nothing exhausting, like
> a two-hour bouncy ride over Arizona on a hot summer afternoon.
> Nothing nerve-wracking, like the night-time journey through a rain
> storm in continuous moderate turbulence. Nothing as surreal as
> a bout with Mexican officialdom on a trip to Baja. Just plain fun,
> and I passed the 500 hour mark in the air without even realizing it.
>
> No champaign on landing. No excited crowds (although I have
> manage to survive in the air 50% longer than Amelia Earhart did,
> which should entitle me to something). Come to think of it, no
> drama whatsoever. Isn't life fun sometimes?

>I look back and wonder how my instructor could have let me solo at 12 hours.

I don't think he would today!

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! www.vivabush.org

> >I look back and wonder how my instructor could have let me solo at 12
hours.
>
> I don't think he would today!

I don't think things are so different.

At least in the Midwest, there are still old-fashioned CFIs around who will
solo you at less than 10 hours, and finish you up by 40 - 45.

Will that new pilot be ready to fly into Dulles? Nope. But he'll do just
fine in Ottumwa or Iowa City.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 4/3/04 5:55 AM, in article ,
"Cub Driver" > wrote:

>
>> I look back and wonder how my instructor could have let me solo at 12 hours.
>
> I don't think he would today!
>

?? I soloed in 1999. Has there been that much change in 4 years?
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino
Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
www.wizardofdraws.com
www.cartoonclipart.com

>At least in the Midwest, there are still old-fashioned CFIs around who will
>solo you at less than 10 hours, and finish you up by 40 - 45.

Well, there may be a few, but I believe typical is 20/60 hours, maybe
higher.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

in article , Wizard of
Draws at wrote on 4/2/04 5:16 PM:

> On 4/2/04 9:39 AM, in article %Webc.165213$po.972319@attbi_s52, "Jay Honeck"
> > wrote:
>
>> Congrats. It's fun to watch the hours tick off, over the years.
>>
>> I remember when I was a student, and there was an instrument student at my
>> FBO that had (*gasp!*) TWO HUNDRED HOURS.
>>
>> I thought he was God himself.
>>
>> Now, with 800-some hours, and growing about 100 per year, I realize how
>> little he knew, and how REALLY little I knew.
>>
>> In fact, I'm sometimes amazed that they let any of us fly at all, with just
>> 40-something hours on the clock...
>>
>> ;-)
>
> I look back and wonder how my instructor could have let me solo at 12 hours.
> Signing off a student to solo or take a checkride, have to be some of the
> scariest moments in aviation.

This brings up a question I have regarding the tabulation of hours. Looking
at my logbook, I had 11.3 hours prior to the lesson in which I first soloed.
The lesson itself lasted a total of 1.2 hours, of which .3 was solo,
sandwiched in between some dual.

Okay, so did I solo at 11.3 hours, or did I solo at 12.5 hours?

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> Okay, so did I solo at 11.3 hours, or did I solo at 12.5 hours?

I don't understand why you need to ask. The phrase "I soloed at <x> hours"
is equivalent to "I had flown <x> hours before I flew solo". It's obvious
how many hours you had before you flew solo, and the number sure as heck
isn't 11.3.

in article , Peter Duniho at
wrote on 4/3/04 9:15 AM:

> "Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Okay, so did I solo at 11.3 hours, or did I solo at 12.5 hours?
>
> I don't understand why you need to ask. The phrase "I soloed at <x> hours"
> is equivalent to "I had flown <x> hours before I flew solo". It's obvious
> how many hours you had before you flew solo, and the number sure as heck
> isn't 11.3.

Hmmm, so you're saying it's a number somewhere between 11.3 and 12.5? So why
is it that so many people are confidently able to state, "I soloed at
exactly such-and-such hours", when in fact their circumstances were likely
similar to mine?

I know, it's a minor semantic quibble, but I'm honestly interested in how
people interpret this.

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> Hmmm, so you're saying it's a number somewhere between 11.3 and 12.5? So
why
> is it that so many people are confidently able to state, "I soloed at
> exactly such-and-such hours", when in fact their circumstances were likely
> similar to mine?

Let's ignore for the moment the fact that comparing time-to-solo numbers is
dumb anyway, given the vast disparity in the quality of instructors, the
quality of students, and various factors out of either's control (weather,
distance of practice area, other traffic, etc.). I also don't know why it's
hard for you to figure out what the number for you is, but I'll accept that
it is.

In your example, at the point in time at which you were permitted to act as
the solo pilot in command of the airplane, you had already received 11.3
hours of dual prior to that flight, plus another 0.9 hours of dual that
flight. If you add the two numbers, you get 12.2 hours of dual instruction
prior to your solo.

The reason that so many people are confidently able to state "I soloed at
exactly such-and-such hours" is that they have kept an accurate record of
their dual instruction hours up to that point, and they are able to add the
hours together to come up with a single cumulative figure.

If that still doesn't answer your question, please describe as precisely as
you can what part is still confusing, and I'll be happy to try to clarify
the answer.

Pete

in article , Peter Duniho at
wrote on 4/3/04 1:24 PM:

> "Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Hmmm, so you're saying it's a number somewhere between 11.3 and 12.5? So
> why
>> is it that so many people are confidently able to state, "I soloed at
>> exactly such-and-such hours", when in fact their circumstances were likely
>> similar to mine?
>
> Let's ignore for the moment the fact that comparing time-to-solo numbers is
> dumb anyway, given the vast disparity in the quality of instructors, the
> quality of students, and various factors out of either's control (weather,
> distance of practice area, other traffic, etc.). I also don't know why it's
> hard for you to figure out what the number for you is, but I'll accept that
> it is.

Oh, trust me, I'm not trying to turn this into a "least hours to solo"
competition or anything. It's just that I'm often asked, "How many hours did
you have before you soloed?", and I'd like to give an accurate answer,
that's all.

> In your example, at the point in time at which you were permitted to act as
> the solo pilot in command of the airplane, you had already received 11.3
> hours of dual prior to that flight, plus another 0.9 hours of dual that
> flight. If you add the two numbers, you get 12.2 hours of dual instruction
> prior to your solo.

Well, not exactly. You see, at the start of the lesson in question, I
received some dual instruction for an undetermined length of time, then I
soloed for .3 hours, then I received some more dual instruction flying back
to the home airport. Before the lesson I had 11.3 hours, and after it I had
12.5 hours. That's why I don't know exactly how many hours I had prior to
solo.

> The reason that so many people are confidently able to state "I soloed at
> exactly such-and-such hours" is that they have kept an accurate record of
> their dual instruction hours up to that point, and they are able to add the
> hours together to come up with a single cumulative figure.
>
> If that still doesn't answer your question, please describe as precisely as
> you can what part is still confusing, and I'll be happy to try to clarify
> the answer.
>
> Pete

See above.

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> in article , Peter Duniho at
> wrote on 4/3/04 1:24 PM:
>
> > "Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >> Hmmm, so you're saying it's a number somewhere between 11.3 and 12.5?
So
> > why
> >> is it that so many people are confidently able to state, "I soloed at
> >> exactly such-and-such hours", when in fact their circumstances were
likely
> >> similar to mine?
> >
> > Let's ignore for the moment the fact that comparing time-to-solo numbers
is
> > dumb anyway, given the vast disparity in the quality of instructors, the
> > quality of students, and various factors out of either's control
(weather,
> > distance of practice area, other traffic, etc.). I also don't know why
it's
> > hard for you to figure out what the number for you is, but I'll accept
that
> > it is.
>
> Oh, trust me, I'm not trying to turn this into a "least hours to solo"
> competition or anything. It's just that I'm often asked, "How many hours
did
> you have before you soloed?", and I'd like to give an accurate answer,
> that's all.
>
> > In your example, at the point in time at which you were permitted to act
as
> > the solo pilot in command of the airplane, you had already received 11.3
> > hours of dual prior to that flight, plus another 0.9 hours of dual that
> > flight. If you add the two numbers, you get 12.2 hours of dual
instruction
> > prior to your solo.
>
> Well, not exactly. You see, at the start of the lesson in question, I
> received some dual instruction for an undetermined length of time, then I
> soloed for .3 hours, then I received some more dual instruction flying
back
> to the home airport. Before the lesson I had 11.3 hours, and after it I
had
> 12.5 hours. That's why I don't know exactly how many hours I had prior to
> solo.
>

Just say 12 hours and be done with it! Or, "around 10 hours or so"! Or,
"under 15 hours"! Just pick your number, and stick by it! :)

Cheers,
John Clonts
Temple, Texas
N7NZ

in article , John Clonts at
wrote on 4/3/04 6:58 PM:

>
> "Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
> ...

>> Well, not exactly. You see, at the start of the lesson in question, I
>> received some dual instruction for an undetermined length of time, then I
>> soloed for .3 hours, then I received some more dual instruction flying
> back
>> to the home airport. Before the lesson I had 11.3 hours, and after it I
> had
>> 12.5 hours. That's why I don't know exactly how many hours I had prior to
>> solo.
>>
>
> Just say 12 hours and be done with it! Or, "around 10 hours or so"! Or,
> "under 15 hours"! Just pick your number, and stick by it! :)
>
> Cheers,
> John Clonts
> Temple, Texas
> N7NZ

I believe that's the best answer I've received so far. Thanks.

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> [...]
> Well, not exactly. You see, at the start of the lesson in question, I
> received some dual instruction for an undetermined length of time, then I
> soloed for .3 hours, then I received some more dual instruction flying
back
> to the home airport. Before the lesson I had 11.3 hours, and after it I
had
> 12.5 hours. That's why I don't know exactly how many hours I had prior to
> solo.

If you don't provide accurate information, you don't get accurate answers.

As for your "undetermined length of time", I guess that's your own fault for
not logging the time. But the rest of us actually keep track of time, and
know when things start and stop.

I don't see how you could know you flew solo for 0.3 hours without knowing
the time at which you started your solo flight and the time at which you
ended it. And if you know when you started your solo flight, you ought to
be able to know when you ended the dual instruction prior to it. But I
guess if you don't know, you just don't know.

The answer to your question regarding how the rest of us know is that we
actually bothered to pay attention. We kept track of the time. In many
cases, the solo flight was done at the home base airport, and after the last
solo landing, the student simply taxied back to parking. So obviously in
that very common case, it would be trivial for someone who knows how much
solo time they had to also know how much dual instruction they had prior.

Bottom line: you say "I'd like to give an accurate answer". The problem in
your case is that you didn't track your time well enough to give an accurate
answer. I don't see how you can resolve the issue now. You have a
fundamental lack of information necessary to do what you want to do, and
unless you figure out a way to recover that information from other sources,
there's nothing you can do about it. Certainly none of us have any way to
figure it out for you.

Pete

in article , Peter Duniho at
wrote on 4/3/04 7:25 PM:

> "Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
> ...
>> [...]
>> Well, not exactly. You see, at the start of the lesson in question, I
>> received some dual instruction for an undetermined length of time, then I
>> soloed for .3 hours, then I received some more dual instruction flying
> back
>> to the home airport. Before the lesson I had 11.3 hours, and after it I
> had
>> 12.5 hours. That's why I don't know exactly how many hours I had prior to
>> solo.
>
> If you don't provide accurate information, you don't get accurate answers.
>
> As for your "undetermined length of time", I guess that's your own fault for
> not logging the time. But the rest of us actually keep track of time, and
> know when things start and stop.
>
> I don't see how you could know you flew solo for 0.3 hours without knowing
> the time at which you started your solo flight and the time at which you
> ended it. And if you know when you started your solo flight, you ought to
> be able to know when you ended the dual instruction prior to it. But I
> guess if you don't know, you just don't know.
>
> The answer to your question regarding how the rest of us know is that we
> actually bothered to pay attention. We kept track of the time. In many
> cases, the solo flight was done at the home base airport, and after the last
> solo landing, the student simply taxied back to parking. So obviously in
> that very common case, it would be trivial for someone who knows how much
> solo time they had to also know how much dual instruction they had prior.
>
> Bottom line: you say "I'd like to give an accurate answer". The problem in
> your case is that you didn't track your time well enough to give an accurate
> answer. I don't see how you can resolve the issue now. You have a
> fundamental lack of information necessary to do what you want to do, and
> unless you figure out a way to recover that information from other sources,
> there's nothing you can do about it. Certainly none of us have any way to
> figure it out for you.
>
> Pete

Hey, that's cool Pete. I hope I didn't upset you.

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> Hey, that's cool Pete. I hope I didn't upset you.

I have no idea how you might have.

I did find your question a bit bizarre, given the obviousness of the answer
(IMHO, of course). But "bizarre" is Usenet's middle name, right?

On Sun, 04 Apr 2004 02:11:00 GMT, Philip Sondericker
> wrote:

>It's just that I'm often asked, "How many hours did
>you have before you soloed?"

And you can be pretty sure that the person who asks that is not
interested in a lecture, or even in an answer with decimal points. For
purposes of the example posted just above, either 10 or 11 hours would
serve just fine. (Or ws it 11 or 12?)

Personally, I had 48, and I was assured that it was not a field
record.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

in article , Cub Driver at
wrote on 4/4/04 3:43 AM:

> On Sun, 04 Apr 2004 02:11:00 GMT, Philip Sondericker
> > wrote:
>
>> It's just that I'm often asked, "How many hours did
>> you have before you soloed?"
>
> And you can be pretty sure that the person who asks that is not
> interested in a lecture,

Hey, everybody, I've got an idea--why don't we all do a little flying today
and unwind a bit?

lol

> Hey, everybody, I've got an idea--why don't we all do a little flying
today
> and unwind a bit?

Did just that! We flew with the kids up to Prairie du Chien, WI, had lunch
at the casino, walked around Marquette (the small town nearest the river
boat), let the kids play outside in the beautiful weather, wandered into a
train switching yard and had a blast watching them build trains -- and then
stopped off at Green Castle Airport on our way back to Iowa City.

Green Castle is the idyllic little airport that was written up by AOPA's
Julie K. Boatman last summer. It's what we would call "artist's conception
of perfect airport," with over 200 members, and an extremely active flight
training program.

It's such a cool place. What a perfect day to fly!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

in article PC2cc.188784$po.1003736@attbi_s52, Jay Honeck at
wrote on 4/4/04 6:28 PM:

>> Hey, everybody, I've got an idea--why don't we all do a little flying
> today
>> and unwind a bit?
>
> Did just that! We flew with the kids up to Prairie du Chien, WI, had lunch
> at the casino, walked around Marquette (the small town nearest the river
> boat), let the kids play outside in the beautiful weather, wandered into a
> train switching yard and had a blast watching them build trains -- and then
> stopped off at Green Castle Airport on our way back to Iowa City.
>
> Green Castle is the idyllic little airport that was written up by AOPA's
> Julie K. Boatman last summer. It's what we would call "artist's conception
> of perfect airport," with over 200 members, and an extremely active flight
> training program.
>
> It's such a cool place. What a perfect day to fly!

God, people with positive attitudes just make me sick! Why can't you
grumpily nitpick some arcane point in my post--I mean, just to fit in?

> God, people with positive attitudes just make me sick! Why can't you
> grumpily nitpick some arcane point in my post--I mean, just to fit in?

Jay...fit in? ROTFL... :-)

Ok, at the risk of siding with a certain Hotel owner in Iowa...I went flying
Saturday as well. Great day to fly. Logged an hour in my favorite 172 then
my brother flew up to meet me in the 2003 model 182 we're planning to fly to
OSH this year. Nice airplane, only 110 hours total time. Flew to Pine
Mountain Lake...great spot to grab a bite to eat (just don't bring your
American Express or any form of plastic).

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

>Why can't you
>grumpily nitpick some arcane point in my post--I mean, just to fit in?

It has been raining in the Northeast for a week, and between that and
the spring thaw all my grass airports are closed. That could explain
some of the posts.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

Cub Driver wrote:
>
> It has been raining in the Northeast for a week, and between that and
> the spring thaw all my grass airports are closed.

Well, they froze over again last night. Right now, it's still a degree or two below
freezing here in NJ.

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

What Pine Mountain Lake is that? What state?

I have been looking at Lakeshore on Pine Mountain Lake in Northern
Minnesota.


"Jack Allison" > wrote in
:

>> God, people with positive attitudes just make me sick! Why can't you
>> grumpily nitpick some arcane point in my post--I mean, just to fit
>> in?
>
> Jay...fit in? ROTFL... :-)
>
> Ok, at the risk of siding with a certain Hotel owner in Iowa...I went
> flying Saturday as well. Great day to fly. Logged an hour in my
> favorite 172 then my brother flew up to meet me in the 2003 model 182
> we're planning to fly to OSH this year. Nice airplane, only 110 hours
> total time. Flew to Pine Mountain Lake...great spot to grab a bite to
> eat (just don't bring your American Express or any form of plastic).
>

>> It has been raining in the Northeast for a week, and between that and
>> the spring thaw all my grass airports are closed.
>
>Well, they froze over again last night. Right now, it's still a degree or two below
>freezing here in NJ.

Oh, it takes more than that to put the frost back into the ground!
They're thawed now, and they won't freeze again till December or
January.

Freezes are good. It's the thawing that's bad.
all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

"Philip Sondericker" > wrote in message
...
> > In your example, at the point in time at which you were permitted to act
as
> > the solo pilot in command of the airplane, you had already received 11.3
> > hours of dual prior to that flight, plus another 0.9 hours of dual that
> > flight. If you add the two numbers, you get 12.2 hours of dual
instruction
> > prior to your solo.
>
> Well, not exactly. You see, at the start of the lesson in question, I
> received some dual instruction for an undetermined length of time, then I
> soloed for .3 hours, then I received some more dual instruction flying
back
> to the home airport.

Ah. Most people I guess (myself included) log the time the dual
instruction flight ends...it should be the end of a flight, assuming
the instructor doesn't put on a parachute and jump out. Then you
start logging solo from that time until you land and stop the plane.
If the instructor gets back in and you do some more stuff, then you
start logging dual instruction at that time.

You could just guess I suppose, but you'd need to enter something
in your log book. Should probably be different lines for different
flights.

Reminds me of the student pilot who was asked what he would do
if his instructor became incapacitated half way through a cross
country flight. His answer was to continue to his destination and
log half dual instruction and half pilot in command.

Paul

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
>
> >Why can't you
> >grumpily nitpick some arcane point in my post--I mean, just to fit in?
>
> It has been raining in the Northeast for a week, and between that and
> the spring thaw all my grass airports are closed. That could explain
> some of the posts.

We in the Northwest have all been out flying, which explains why the local
flame wars have subsided a bit :-) It's been the sort of CAVU week that we
know happens fro mtime to time, and people from outside assume happens
never. I chose Friday evening to knock some rust off with 3 and a hold, and
just had to lift the shades for a few minutes so I could take in the sunset.

After we landed, I stood on the apron and took advantage of the low horizon
to the west (except for the Olympics). There, in a ragged line left to
right, were the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury, all visible
at once. That won't happen again until 2035.

-- David Brooks

Groveland, California. Airport identifier: Q68.

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

Paul Sengupta wrote:
>
> Reminds me of the student pilot who was asked what he would do
> if his instructor became incapacitated half way through a cross
> country flight. His answer was to continue to his destination and
> log half dual instruction and half pilot in command.

In the U.S., student pilots are not allowed to carry passengers. I guess the best
thing to do would be to toss the instructor out and finish the trip solo. :-)

George Patterson
This marriage is off to a shaky start. The groom just asked the band to
play "Your cheatin' heart", and the bride just requested "Don't come home
a'drinkin' with lovin' on your mind".

>Ah. Most people I guess (myself included) log the time the dual
>instruction flight ends...it should be the end of a flight, assuming
>the instructor doesn't put on a parachute and jump out. Then you
>start logging solo from that time until you land and stop the plane.

I was in such bliss that I didn't log anything. But now that I look at
my logbook, I see that my instructor did: for 1/26/98, I flew dual for
0.6 hours followed by solo 0.5 hours.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

"G.R. Patterson III" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Paul Sengupta wrote:
> >
> > Reminds me of the student pilot who was asked what he would do
> > if his instructor became incapacitated half way through a cross
> > country flight. His answer was to continue to his destination and
> > log half dual instruction and half pilot in command.
>
> In the U.S., student pilots are not allowed to carry passengers. I guess
the best
> thing to do would be to toss the instructor out and finish the trip solo.
:-)

Oh, oh!! We're back to the suicide thread.

> After we landed, I stood on the apron and took advantage of the low
horizon
> to the west (except for the Olympics). There, in a ragged line left to
> right, were the Moon, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, and Mercury, all
visible
> at once. That won't happen again until 2035.

We saw the same thing -- it was awesome.

We took off from Iowa City with the kids, with three scattered layers
overhead. Flew through one, flew through the next, and then, as we
proceeded south, the third one just evaporated.

Just for fun, I wheeled and soared between and through the little puffies,
as the sun set through them. The red colors of the setting sun shining
through the wispy layer was almost religious.

The kids, who had previously been whining about going flying, fell unusually
silent. As the sun sank below the horizon the air became thick and syrupy,
and we were all lost in our own thoughts as the moon and five planets
emerged.

It was one of those rare moments that separates flying life from the rest of
our hum-drum existence.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"